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While we’re on the topic of biodiversity studies, take a look at what Sustainable Table has to say.  It covers global food and farming issues and presents some interesting resources from around the world, to read and reach out to, for your family, community, schools and businesses:

• United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Centre
  Provides a good general overview of the concept of biodiversity.
• Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Heritage
  Discusses the principles and values of genetic, species, and the importance of ecosystem diversity.
• The ARK USA
  Brought to you by Slow Food, The ARK is a project designed to preserve foods that are at risk of becoming ‘extinct’ – including rare varieties of fruits and vegetables, heritage breeds of animals, and foods created using increasingly uncommon methods of production.
• The Center for Biodiversity and Conservation
  From the American Museum of Natural History, the Center integrates scientific research, education, and outreach so that people, themselves major catalysts in the rapid loss of biodiversity, will become participants in its conservation.
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• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Biodiversity
  UN illustrates the important connection between biodiversity and food security issues.
• Seed Savers Exchange
  A nonprofit organization is dedicated to preserving and sharing heirloom seed varieties. Their site includes information about heirloom plant varieties and an extensive catalog of heirloom seeds.

In addition to providing helpful resources on the emerging area of diversity studies, they also share stories about preserving biodiversity, explaining that a “growing number of sustainable farmers are preserving agricultural variety and protecting biodiversity by raising “heritage” and “heirloom” animal breeds, fruits, and vegetables.”

Also here are a few essential agricultural processes made possible by Earth’s biodiversity from Sustainable Table:

• Pollination - Most of the world’s staple crops are pollinated by insects, birds, bats and other animals.
• Resistance to Disease and Pests - Genetic diversity helps to provide resistance to disease and pests. Mass production of a single crop variety makes it easier for entire crops to wipe out, so diversity is key in avoiding this.
• Pest Control - Natural predators such as wasps and birds help reduce populations of pests which may destroy plants on farms.
• Productive Soil - A wide variety of living organisms take part in the decomposition processes that create soils and make nutrients available for plant nutrition.

Above “Biodiversity in a Panama forest” image by Rasbak is under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License.

Read this week’s articles on foods and farming around the world:

AFRICA - Food and Farming Around the World: Recipes for Healing with Nature in Africa from Shea Terra Organics

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - Italy and “La Ruta Del Café” Eco-Tourism Project in the Dominican Republic

INDIA - Tulsi or Holy Basil - India’s Sacred Medicinal Herb

INDIA - “I Am No Lab Rat”, Campaign Against Genetically Modified Foods Spreads Across India

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